Here's the description of a panel entitled Boys Reading: a Focus on Fantasy: "A myth persists that boys don’t like reading, but most of the time engaging young male learners is only a matter of finding the right books to hook them. Exciting fantasy draws boys with its dramatic action, imaginative worlds, and adventure. Authors will talk about what drew them to fantasy and how they lure boys into reading." ( list of the panelists (all male) here).

This was troubling (ie, made me swear) for several reasons.

For starters, if it's a myth, which I do think it is, that boys don't like reading, why perpetuate it with a panel that implies that boys are Special Snowflakes who will melt if they are not spoon-fed books that cater to a particular set of stereotypes regarding boy personalities? I have also found in my own experience with a reluctant reader that it isn't necessarily a matter of finding one category of "right books" and all problems are solved, and lo, they are hooked. Every time he loves a book, I think "now I can relax" but it doesn't work that way. There is no universal magic formula that works for everyone. And maybe some reluctant readers aren't hooked by the type of book described above because no matter how many of them you offer, they just aren't the type of book that kid likes (which is to say, kids are individuals).

I am tired of "dramatic action" equals "boy appeal." How about this: "exciting fantasy draws in readers who enjoy exciting fantasy." And I am tired of "exciting" being the only good thing. I am tired of the fact that there are lots of fantasy books in which girls subvert gender stereotypes of "girl-ness," and participate in dramatic action like crazy, but very very few books in which boys are allowed to be "un-boyish"--to be quiet, contemplative learners and thinkers, valuing and nurturing relationships, having inner lives, and other non-dramatic-action sorts of things. (Which makes me think of how our culture values extroverts more than introverts).

Well-written fantasy, regardless of how "exciting" it may or may not be, draws boys in with its compelling characters and mind-blowing insights about what it is to be a person. That is because boys are not all that different from girls, or anybody else who finds a book that works for them.
If boys are always given books full of dramatic action, sure, they might enjoy lots of them, but they will miss out on a lot. If boys are given books in which boys do things other than have Exciting Adventures, it will expand their concepts of what it is to be a boy.

"This discussion will be framed around three main talking points that will provide teachers and librarians with tools to help students discuss adversity, to foster empathy, and to become advocates in the classroom. Authors will include Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Kimberly Newton Fusco, Cynthia Lord, Karen Day, Jo Knowles, Nora Raleigh Baskin, Erin E. Moulton and Leslie Connor."

Note that in this session, the writers are all women. Women, it seems, being the ones in our culture whose job it is to foster empathy. Men, as in session one, are stuck writing adventures.

Here's a panel I would love to see: "Fostering empathy in young readers through science fiction and fantasy books" with both male and female panelists.

And here's what I'm going to do as a book reviewer and a parent.

One: I am going to question the choices I make in which books to offer my boys (10 and 13).

With regard to my 10 year old: Do I offer my avid fantasy reader fast-paced, adventure-filled stories, that aren't that great at being thought provoking, just because I know he'll enjoy them? Answer: yes. Am I glad that last year his school reading pushed him outside his comfort zone, introducing him to Wonder and Out of My Mind, both of which he loved and talked about avidly? Yes.

With regard to my 13 year old, an incredibly picky reader who mostly enjoys graphic novels, I can't really question my choices much, because he only reads 1 in 20 of the books of all types that I offer him. But I can make sure that those books include ones that will foster empathy.

Two: I will be more explicit in my reviews about distinguishing those that have action and adventure stories that are simply fun and exciting, and those where there may well be action and adventure, but which also push against societal expectations of gendered behavior, and which have the potential to foster paradigm shifts in the mind of the reader. As it is, I have a habit of briskly tossing off statements like "jam-packed with adventurous fun" which just means there was too much action for me to really like it myself. I think I need to avoid falling into handy little self-referential shorthand like that, and think a bit more critically.

Three: I will try harder to combat the whole "if you want a boy to read it there can never be a dull moment" idea.

With that in mind, here is a short list of relatively recent fantasy books for ten to twelve year oldish readers, with boy protagonists, that many boys (not all, because not all boys are the same) will like that do have some excitement in them, but which give their boy protagonists something else to do and think about besides charging around having adventures:

43 comments:

I'd be interested in what boys think of The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett.

It has a female protagonist and plenty of action and broad humor. But, Pratchett doesn't insist that "girls will be boys." He has female characters who respect and master the "womanly arts" of kitchen, hearth and family.

That is just one of the things I love about his books!! He makes it so clear that there are so many ways to live a worthwhile life. I am definitely going to be offering Wee Free Men to my own boys (both of them) soon....

I struggle withthis ALL the time. In general, I think that adults are not very good at writing what middle grade readers enjoy. Any empathy and introspection goes down a bit better with a spoonful of action, and more of my readers want humor and reastic fiction instead of the dozens of fantasy series. Maybe it's the combinations that adults write-- lots of sports books have character development in spades and readers love them. Always good to think about.

A sports book that was a blow by blow description of game after game would be very boring, and that is where some fantasies, I think, go wrong in trying to be "action-packed." How can one not prefer books that balance humor, and poignancy, and characters to care about, with the action.

Oh Charlotte, I love this post so much. I particularly love what you say about there being a shortage of books in which boys are permitted to be and do things that aren't gender-coded as "boyish". I hadn't thought of it in these terms before, but I'm rather starved for contemplative male characters. They are much too rare!

I see someone beat me to mentioning the Prydain Chronicles - which, while they have plenty of adventure to offer, also make you THINK about whether that adventure is really as grand as you thought it.

Will Stanton from Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series is another good one. Quiet, calm, sensible, most frequently described as "sturdy" ... not exactly dashing and daring, and yet thoroughly awesome.

Gen of Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief books isn't exactly quiet or reserved, but he certainly uses his mind far more than he uses his physical skills.

Off topic, it's such a relief to hear you say that one can't always find that one perfect type of book to make a reader. I keep tossing all kinds of different stories at my daughter, hoping to find "the one" that makes her fall in love with reading, and so far she's still a mostly indifferent reader - she'll read if I prompt her, and enjoy some of the stories I give her, but she rarely picks up a book to read all on her own. So I'm thankful to hear it's not necessarily that I'm Doing It Wrong with her!

At a Youth Services instate conference yesterday, one librarian shared her "battle of the books" program. A march madness type thing, starting with 32 books, kids voted, it went over several weeks until one book won. The last two books? BEAUTIFUL CREATURES v THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. The winner? BEAUTIFUL CREATURES .... because a teenage boy loved it and encouraged others to read it and vote for it. How many people, without that ending bit, have assumed that BC won b/c it was a girl book and girls were voting for it?

Thanks for mentioning Jinx, Charlotte! You know I will always push for Diana Wynne Jones, but I see others have gotten there first. I'd give The Lives of Christopher Chant to any boy or girl in that age range.

I tweeted this to you, but it came out garbled: Something this discussion makes me think of is a study that came out back when I was a public school teacher. The study found that children, teachers and parents perceived boys as being slower to learn to read than girls were. Boys were much more often referred for literacy help than girls were. However, boys weren't really learning to read more slowly.

Anyway, big cheers to everyone who's putting books into the hands of boys and girls.

Before my books go to my agent and then on to the publisher I ask boys and girls (in the target age group) to review them. I take their comments seriously and have reworked passages based on their thoughts. What I found early on was that both genders favored the girl protagonist in the stories. Now that my first book is on the shelves reactions from a broader range of readers has been the same: Melinda is the favorite character.

What I have also found very interesting is that adults, who have judged the book by its cover alone, have deemed it a "girl's" book since the cover art only represents Melinda.

Oooh - this post highlights your intelligence AND your humor! Special snowflakes, indeed! I have to say that I'm a bit tired of all the talk about being sure that books that we highlight (i.e. Cybils finalists) have "boy appeal." I think that trend might be dying out a bit, but for a while, we had to be careful that any list "appealed to boys."

My 4th grade son is now as avid a reader as his sister was/is. It took him longer to get there and more coaxing, but it's happened. Even though my daughter was a confirmed bookworm from the time she could read and comprehend, she too limited herself to books which were "exciting," I tried to push her boundaries, not because she was a girl or a boy or whatever, but because she was a person, and I knew what books offer in that department.

Btw--has your older son read Haddix's Shaow Children series? My son is reading them now, and though they don't feature talking animals, they do seem to have political overtones.

Charlotte, I so appreciated this post! As a writer and the mother of a ten year old, I've had the same concerns about the way people talk about "boy books." My favorite part of your post was this: "Well-written fantasy, regardless of how "exciting" it may or may not be, draws boys in with its compelling characters and mind-blowing insights about what it is to be a person. That is because boys are not all that different from girls, or anybody else who finds a book that works for them."

I think people sometimes underestimate the emotional complexity of middle-grade boys. Yes, many of them are drawn to adventure -- just like they're drawn to poop jokes and video games. But that doesn't stop them from having enormous hearts. I know that the books I read as a child helped to shape the adult I eventually became. I want both my son and daughter to have the same experience, and to do that, they have to read books that engage them on an emotional level.

I don't know if it makes me a twisted mother or not, but part of me has always been rather happy when my boys are moved to tears by what they read...and I've tried to make them feel it's perfectly acceptable....

I read a couple for the Cybils I think you can add to the list:HOW I BECAME A GHOST by Tim Tingle - not a big "action" book, and the boy protagonist is very concerned with familyMIRAGE by Jenn Reese - two female protags and two male; the main boy in this one is an inventor and very much a pacifist

I'm late to this party (as usual) but just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you for bringing up these issues. Please keep making a fuss about it whenever you get the chance! These are absolutely among my hot-button can't-stop-harping-on-it issues - as a mother, as a teacher, and as a writer. I try so hard to celebrate many ways of being in the stories I write, to offer many ways of being in the books I serve my children (one son and one daughter), and to enthuse about many ways of being when I'm talking to students about reading and writing. I will say that as a mother the number one way to teach kids that the full gamut of action and thoughtfulness can be good from both male and female characters is to read aloud Darn Good Books that demonstrate that fact. Start 'em young and never stop, and by the time bookstores and misguided librarians, teachers, and peers try to steer them in one particular direction, they'll already know that's a load of dingo's kidneys and will have none of it.(Here's my own rant on the topic from a while back: http://nydamprintsblackandwhite.blogspot.com/2012/03/boy-books-vs-girl-books.html)Lots of good books have been mentioned - some other possibilities featuring quieter or more thoughtful boys include Eva Ibbotson's "Dial-a-Ghost," Norton Juster's "The Phantom Tollbooth," Natalie Babbitt's "The Search for Delicious," L.M. Boston's "Greene Knowe"... (Those are all probably a bit on the younger side, compared with "Jinx" and some of the others mentioned above.)Anyway, keep it up!

Not sure what I think about the boy/girl thing, but I am tired of the non-stop action that reads like a TV series or movie script. People do like all kinds of books, but can we talk about tendencies and generalizations about boys/girls without implying that ALL boys or ALL girls fit into those generalizations? I'm not sure we can anymore. And maybe that's OK. Maybe you're right about just talking about "this will appeal to kids who like X".

I do know that I re-posted my review of Ender's Game from a few years ago because of the movie, and when I read my assessment that EG was a "boys' book" that girls (like me) might like, I cringed a little. Maybe I'm changing in my view of "gendered" books as our culture changes.

The boy vs girl thing is tricky, because I actually do think that there are differences, and so I think you are spot on about talking about tendencies without making blanket statements. (considers reading Anne of Green Gables to my boys..)